Quotable Beatrix Potter

I commented on this blogpost. Vonnie has been asking some interesting questions in her blog postings. I d urge my own readers to find them and think about them or leave your own thoughts. Today’s question is how do you feel about the various endings a story can have? Do you like to be surprised or do you like to guess? Read on. Look forward to hearing from you.

“This looks like the end of the story; but it isn’t.” – Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin

I love this quote, because in the best books, you think you know the end of the story. But you don’t! Everything you need as a reader to figure out the conclusion of the book is there, but the writer has woven the tale so masterfully, you don’t see the finish line until you’re nearly upon it.

Of course, there are times I want a happily-ever-after ending, and I know by the final page characters will die, dreams will collapse, and wars will be lost. Like in the movie, Atonement. We think the joyful story of young lovers reunited is true, but alas discover the soldier was killed and never returned to his beloved.